clonard.org

I’ve had enough. The Kinnegad exchange doesn’t appear to be capable of providing broadband more than 0.5 miles from the exchange.
Broadford was enabled for broadband but the telephone lines from Clonard don’t go that way.
Lastmile who provide wireless broadband in Kinnegad are unhappy with the levels of service they can provide to people at the outer edge of service. i.e. us.
They are unwillingly providing broadband via wireless where an extra tall aerial has to be installed to obtain a signal. (And understandably so, both from an installation point of view and continuing levels of service it’s a bit marginal to be honest)

So Clonard, bypassed by the motorway, bypassed by technology and fast becoming a backwater?

Not necessarily so. Local businesses are looking for broadband, local hostelries could use broadband to provide internet access for tired and thirsty travellers and local residents are looking for some other way of connecting to the internet rather than pay by the minute through the nose charges for dial-up.

So, what to do.

Currently the department of Communications is offering grants and funding to local Group Broadband Schemes. They are subsidising the install costs for a broadband provider in order to provide some form of broadband to small villages and communities.
All that is required is a handful of signatures from people and businesses who want broadband, a broadband supplier, and a person to act as gopher and voila; group broadband.

So in a completely unilateral decision I am going to canvas local residents and businesses for signatures, contact the GBS co-ordinator, collate prices and services from broadband suppliers and get this thing underway.

If you want to help, support or offer critique feel free to drop a mail to info [AT] clonard.org.

Further to this post I’ll put up some information on the website about the GBS schemes, how it works, what risks are associated with it, the broadband providers available, costs, technology involved etc. etc.

Some posters for signatures need to be put up in public areas, say the church and pubs. When the list of providers is available the details and costs will be posted.